The present invention relates to detection systems.
Detection systems have been used for detecting the presence of an obstruction in a lift doorway. In the most fundamental form an infrared transmitter is mounted on one side of the doorway and infrared detector is mounted on the other side of the doorway on the leading edge of the door. The optical axis of the transmitter is aligned with the optical axis of the receiver and so a light beam extends across the doorway from the transmitter to the receiver. The receiver thus generates an output signal indicative that the doorway is clear. When an obstruction interrupts the beam, the output from the detector changes to indicate the presence of an obstruction and control means are activated to stop the movement of the door and/or reverse the direction of movement.
The problem with this arrangement is that as the distance between the detector and the emitter decreases, the intensity of the light received by the detector increases very significantly. If an obstruction entering the doorway during the last stages of closure is slightly translucent eg a human hand, then light passing through the hand will be detected by the detector and so the door will continue to close on the hand. The problem has, to some extent, been overcome by providing additional circuitry which acts to reduce either the beam intensity of the emitter or the sensitivity of the detector as the door approaches closure. This is still unsatisfactory firstly, because only a step wise reduction is achieved and, secondly, because costly additional circuitry is required.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved detection system.